Arsenal temporarily returned to the top of the Premier League after their win over Newcastle but there are still concerns reigning ahead of the season’s final few games
Arsenal can exhale after temporarily reclaiming the Premier League’s top spot following their victory over Newcastle. The Gunners have regained the upper hand while Manchester City were occupied with an FA Cup semi-final against Southampton.
Mikel Arteta could even temporarily establish a six-point cushion at the summit if they overcome Fulham next Saturday. Yet the threat of City’s match in hand remains ever-present as they prepare to strike and disrupt the north Londoners’ pursuit of a first league crown since 2004.
Eberechi Eze struck against Newcastle to ease Arsenal concerns for now. However, focus has shifted to Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg against Atletico Madrid as the club battles across two campaigns.
Despite the temptation to assume it’s merely a question of when City will take over, a momentous conclusion to the season could still materialise for Arsenal. Here, football.london has dissected the latest developments at the Emirates Stadium as Arteta and Co. pursue glory.
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Rice outlines points target
Considering City’s fixture advantage and the painfully tight contest for superiority in goal difference, Arsenal cannot permit another setback this campaign. Recent consecutive defeats against City and Bournemouth have extinguished what was previously a commanding advantage at the top and eliminated any margin for error.
Under these circumstances, Declan Rice has delivered a rallying call to his colleagues and indicated Saturday’s triumph was merely the next requirement to fulfil. And he harbours no illusions Arteta’s squad must avoid dropping further points from this juncture.
Speaking after the Newcastle win, he said: “The three points were massive today. After the week we had against Manchester City, there was a lot of encouragement to take from that game, but we knew coming into this, with five games left, we have to win all five. To tick that one off today was a real boost. So we’re really, really happy with the win today.”
Alongside their Champions League obligations, Arsenal’s domestic schedule pits them against Fulham (H), West Ham (A), Burnley (H) and Crystal Palace (A), in that order. The season-ending trip to Selhurst Park appears particularly daunting right now, with Palace unbeaten across their last four home fixtures.
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Neville disappointed in Zubimendi
While Arsenal may have secured the crucial three points against Newcastle, Saturday’s outcome was far from a polished display. Newcastle controlled the majority of possession and registered more shots, though Arsenal hit the target more times.
The match was further soured by a Kai Havertz injury that casts doubt over his availability. Few Arsenal players performed to the level Arteta would have hoped for, though Manchester United legend Gary Neville singled out Martin Zubimendi as someone he expected to make a greater impact in his debut Premier League season.
“I thought at the start of the season that Zubimendi was a great signing,” he said on The Gary Neville Podcast. “He’s been a good player for Arsenal, but right now I was expecting that this would be where Zubimendi would be the player.
“Who’s going to be the difference player? I thought [Viktor] Gyokeres would get the goals for them in these big moments and get to 2-0. His lack of quality at the end was poor on that counterattack. He’s got to do better than that.
“But you think of what [Andrea] Pirlo is, or [Paul] Scholes or Rodri, Bernardo Silva, the player who can dictate play in a game like this, get Arsenal on the ball, organise and get them with authority and he’s not demonstrating that. He’s struggling in the games and he has done for a few weeks now.”
Certain supporters may take issue with that assessment given Zubimendi, who arrived from Real Sociedad last summer in a £55.8million deal, has accumulated more league starts (33) than any other outfield Arsenal player this season. Rice remains the only outfield player at the Emirates to have logged more minutes than the Spaniard and even then only by eight minutes.
Neville proceeded to express reservations about Arteta’s midfield strategy and how he achieves the correct balance between Rice, Zubimendi and Martin Odegaard. Most would regard it as a productive debut campaign in England that Zubimendi has featured so regularly in a title-challenging side, yet Neville evidently anticipated a greater impact.
